Daniel Radcliffe, the Man Who Gives

News and gossip about Daniel Radcliffe, (of Harry Potter fame of course) has been swirling around for months about his love of gays and transsexuals; it's almost been like reading the Daily Prophet. But the news that really made my heart sing recently is the news that came out this week that Daniel had made a major donation to the Trevor Project.

The Trevor Project is a national organization in America, focused on crisis and suicide prevention efforts among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth. One of their main projects is their around-the-clock crisis and suicide prevention help-line.

In addition to The Trevor Helpline, the organization operates a number of other important programs, including "Dear Trevor," an online question-and-answer forum for young people with questions surrounding sexual orientation and gender identity; The Trevor Survival Kit, an educational kit distributed to schools and youth service providers to help educators facilitate discussions about suicide, gender identity and sexual orientation; and TrevorSpace, an online social networking community for LGBTQ youth, their friends and allies. Radcliffe's gift will help fund these efforts as well as the organization's national education and advocacy work.

After becoming aware of The Trevor Project and its mission, Radcliffe decided to become involved with the organization. His involvement began with financial support to assist The Trevor Project's programmatic efforts. Moving forward, Radcliffe anticipates taking additional steps to help further broaden awareness of the organization.

"I am very pleased to begin my support of The Trevor Project, which saves lives every day through its critical work," said Daniel Radcliffe, who recently turned twenty. "It's extremely distressing to consider that in 2009 suicide is a top three killer of young people, and it's truly devastating to learn that LGBTQ youth are up to four times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers. I deeply hope my support can raise the organization's visibility so even more despondent youth become aware of The Trevor Helpline's highly trained counselors and Trevor's many other resources. It's vitally important that young people understand they are not alone and, perhaps even more important, that their young lives have real value."

"We're incredibly grateful to Daniel for his truly inspiring and historic generosity and support," said Charles Robbins, executive director and chief executive officer, The Trevor Project. "He is setting a meaningful example for millions of young people around the world by embracing diversity and demonstrating that he cares deeply about the well-being of LGBTQ youth."

Indeed, in a world where we eagerly await the gossip of the next celeb to screw up or to read about their obscene spending sprees for our personal titillation, its stories like Daniel trying to do a bit a good with his wealth and speaking up for others that prove that sometimes life is magical and that Harry Daniel has grown up just fine.